Rwandan MPs shift focus to bronze medal

AFTER losing 1-0 to East Africa Legislative Assembly (Eala) in yesterday’s semi final, Rwandan MPs have vowed to win the bronze medal match which will pit them against Kenya on Saturday at Namboole stadium in Kampala, Uganda.

Friday, December 13, 2013

YesterdayUganda     2-0     KenyaEala     1-0     Rwanda AFTER losing 1-0 to East Africa Legislative Assembly (Eala) in yesterday’s semi final, Rwandan MPs have vowed to win the bronze medal match which will pit them against Kenya on Saturday at Namboole stadium in Kampala, Uganda.The team vice captain MP Jean-Marie Vianney Gatabazi said, "We put on a good performance but we were not lucky to find the net despite many opportunities.”"We have now turned focus on Saturday’s bronze medal match. It is a must-win for us,” added Gatabazi.Hosts and defending champions Uganda will meet Eala in Saturday’s final. Uganda beat Kenya 2-0 in the other semi final.The Eala mooted the idea of the liaising with national parliaments of the five EAC partner states through football in 2001.  Then, Eala hosted a special tournament to mark the occasion of its establishment in Arusha, Tanzania.However, it was not until November 2009 that Eala organised the initial Inter-Parliamentary football tournament. Eala has continued to organise the games as the coordinator and works closely with the hosting National Assembly/Parliament to ensure successful tournaments.The EAC Speakers at their 4th Speakers’ Forum held in the same month agreed to have the Inter-Parliamentary games held on an annual and rotational basis. At the same time, the Speakers’ Forum urged all National Assemblies/Parliaments to have a permanent budget line for the tournament.Eala has institutionalized the tournament in its calendar of activities. The tournament currently features football and netball. The opportunity is also used to hold other activities in the social, intellectual and political fields.